I love to stem, it is IMHO the funnest climbing move with the exception of maybe its cousin, the hand foot match. My shoes are due for their 3rd resole and I'm thinking, mayhaps I eat beans rice and tuna for the next month and splurge the dough on a new pair of shoes.

What would be the best shoes for stemming?? I've thought about it and thought something flat... good rubber.. perhaps the Mythos... well can anyone recommend anything?

I love to stem, it is IMHO the funnest climbing move with the exception of maybe its cousin, the hand foot match. My shoes are due for their 3rd resole and I'm thinking, mayhaps I eat beans rice and tuna for the next month and splurge the dough on a new pair of shoes.

What would be the best shoes for stemming?? I've thought about it and thought something flat... good rubber.. perhaps the Mythos... well can anyone recommend anything?

thanks

I'm afraid there isn't any single shoe quality that's good for stemming. Stemming can be steep, slabby, smeary, edgy, or any combination there of. A soft shoe that excels on friction slabs, for example, will have as much trouble edging in a corner as it will on a face, but if the stems call for smearing, they'll work well. Maybe an all-around shoe then?

What Jay said. Asking for a good smearing shoe is like asking for a good "trad" shoe; it's just vague.

That said, most smearing that I have done has tended to fall more on the smearing side of things than edging, and the fact that stemming requires a lot of backsteps, dropknees, etc., usually means that you are using parts of your shoe beyond just the toe. Usually, when I see a stemming corner, I pull out the Moccasyms.

I love to stem, it is IMHO the funnest climbing move with the exception of maybe its cousin, the hand foot match. My shoes are due for their 3rd resole and I'm thinking, mayhaps I eat beans rice and tuna for the next month and splurge the dough on a new pair of shoes.

What would be the best shoes for stemming?? I've thought about it and thought something flat... good rubber.. perhaps the Mythos... well can anyone recommend anything?

thanks

I have really liked the TC Pros for both edging & smearing. I think they would do the job pretty well.

I love to stem, it is IMHO the funnest climbing move with the exception of maybe its cousin, the hand foot match. My shoes are due for their 3rd resole and I'm thinking, mayhaps I eat beans rice and tuna for the next month and splurge the dough on a new pair of shoes.

What would be the best shoes for stemming?? I've thought about it and thought something flat... good rubber.. perhaps the Mythos... well can anyone recommend anything?

thanks

I have really liked the TC Pros for both edging & smearing. I think they would do the job pretty well.

Well, there you go. TC Pros. ecade, you may already know this, but make sure you try shoes on before buying them.

Evolv Defys. The vast majority of the climbing in Hawaii is dihedral climbing, so I am extremely well antiquated with stemming. I use my Defys on just all about our dihedrals, they work great because they have a soft midsole which further enables me to smear in the inside of the dihedrals. I use the Evos on arettes, or really hard dihedrals. The Evos are a big tighter fitting for a given size, and they are a tad stiffer which allows me to stem on really thin crimps if need be.

Evolv Defys. The vast majority of the climbing in Hawaii is dihedral climbing, so I am extremely well antiquated with stemming. I use my Defys on just all about our dihedrals, they work great because they have a soft midsole which further enables me to smear in the inside of the dihedrals. I use the Evos on arettes, or really hard dihedrals. The Evos are a big tighter fitting for a given size, and they are a tad stiffer which allows me to stem on really thin crimps if need be.

Evolv Defys. The vast majority of the climbing in Hawaii is dihedral climbing, so I am extremely well antiquated with stemming. I use my Defys on just all about our dihedrals, they work great because they have a soft midsole which further enables me to smear in the inside of the dihedrals. I use the Evos on arettes, or really hard dihedrals. The Evos are a big tighter fitting for a given size, and they are a tad stiffer which allows me to stem on really thin crimps if need be.

I will disagree with my friend mr. camhat though. While I do love me some moccassyms, and am even mildly antiquated with them, I prefer the little bit of toe drive/power you get out of an edging shoe on a power smear, (as opposed to a friction smear) so I'd think of something like a muira, katana, anasazi, etc. Just so long as it's not mega stiff board lasted like a Newton.

I will disagree with my friend mr. camhat though. While I do love me some moccassyms, and am even mildly antiquated with them, I prefer the little bit of toe drive/power you get out of an edging shoe on a power smear, (as opposed to a friction smear) so I'd think of something like a muira, katana, anasazi, etc. Just so long as it's not mega stiff board lasted like a Newton.

Power Bill 5.11a/c (7 Bolts)

An area classic! Watch out for the power smearing crux after the power liebacking enduro corner. A few stout moves of power crimping guard the chains, so save some power!

I will disagree with my friend mr. camhat though. While I do love me some moccassyms, and am even mildly antiquated with them, I prefer the little bit of toe drive/power you get out of an edging shoe on a power smear, (as opposed to a friction smear) so I'd think of something like a muira, katana, anasazi, etc. Just so long as it's not mega stiff board lasted like a Newton.

Power Bill 5.11a/c (7 Bolts)

An area classic! Watch out for the power smearing crux after the power liebacking enduro corner. A few stout moves of power crimping guard the chains, so save some power!

I will disagree with my friend mr. camhat though. While I do love me some moccassyms, and am even mildly antiquated with them, I prefer the little bit of toe drive/power you get out of an edging shoe on a power smear, (as opposed to a friction smear) so I'd think of something like a muira, katana, anasazi, etc. Just so long as it's not mega stiff board lasted like a Newton.

Power Bill 5.11a/c (7 Bolts)

An area classic! Watch out for the power smearing crux after the power liebacking enduro corner. A few stout moves of power crimping guard the chains, so save some power!

Where do I need to save the power? In my toes, fingers or scrotum?

That's what chalk bags are for, but they only work if you clip them to a gear loop.

I will disagree with my friend mr. camhat though. While I do love me some moccassyms, and am even mildly antiquated with them, I prefer the little bit of toe drive/power you get out of an edging shoe on a power smear, (as opposed to a friction smear) so I'd think of something like a muira, katana, anasazi, etc. Just so long as it's not mega stiff board lasted like a Newton.

Power Bill 5.11a/c (7 Bolts)

An area classic! Watch out for the power smearing crux after the power liebacking enduro corner. A few stout moves of power crimping guard the chains, so save some power!

Where do I need to save the power? In my toes, fingers or scrotum?

That's what chalk bags are for, but they only work if you clip them to a gear loop.